Christ our Lord, True God and True Man

Catechism of the Catholic Church sections # 422 through 682 are relevant to these documents.

Background statements written by Msgr. Peter J. Elliott of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and copyrighted by Catholics Committed to Support the Pope are indicated by ©CCSP. All others are written and copyrighted by Martin K.Barrack.

Document

Description

Background

Apostles Creed
New Advent

Creed discovered during the 4th century

Although this creed has been attributed to the Apostles, it is somewhat unlikely that they are its authors. Nonetheless, it faithfully summarizes the truths taught from the earliest days of the Church. The title, Apostles Creed, is first found in a letter sent by the Synod of Milan (390) to Pope St. Siricius. ©CCSP

Nicene-Constantinople Creed
New Advent

The Nicene Creed, our profession of faith at Sunday Mass, published by the Council of Constantinople in 381

Although not composed at the First Council of Constantinople (381), it incorporates many elements of the Nicene Creed (325), and seems to have been promulgated, even though not composed, by the First Council of Constantinople. After gaining recognition, it soon acquired great authority and made its way into the liturgy in both the East and the West. ©CCSP

Quicumque
New Advent

Athanasian Creed, first discovered during the fifth or sixth century

Although not written by St. Athanasius, this creed, known as the Quicumque (from its first Latin word), and probably composed in the fifth or sixth century, has long had great authority as a source of Catholic belief. ©CCSP

Tome of Pope St. Damasus I
Still looking

Year 382

Although directed primarily at Trinitarian errors, the anathemas of Pope St. Damasus are also concerned with errors concerning Christ. The sixth canon condemns those who claimed there is a duality of sonships in Christ; the seventh condemns the view that Christ did not truly become man; the fourteenth repudiates both Patripassianism (Monarchism) (which denied the Trinity and held that God the Father suffered on the cross) and the heresy that Christ’s human nature was not a true human nature. ©CCSP

Anathematisms Against Nestorius
Still looking

Letter written by St. Cyril of Alexandria in 430

One year prior to the Council of Ephesus, St. Cyril composed twelve condemnations of errors spread by Nestorius regarding Christ. Although these have never been formally approved by any council, they express orthodox Catholic faith. Cyril used terms that so emphasized the unity of person in Christ that later on claimed that later on Monophysites led by Eutyches (who claimed that Christ’s human nature was absorbed by the divine) sought to support their heresy by appealing to St. Cyril. The difficulties caused by Cyril’s terminology are illustrated in the third and fourth canons. But Cyril was thoroughly orthodox, as manifested by his insistence that Mary be called “Mother of God.” ©CCSP

Council of Ephesus
EWTN Library

Statement of the Council of Ephesus in 431

Nestorius claimed that there are two persons in Christ, a divine and a human. His heresy was vigorously opposed by St. Cyril of Alexandria. His second letter to Nestorius was adopted by the Council of Ephesus, the third ecumenical council, as an expression of Catholic faith at its first session on July 22, 431. Precisely because the God-made-man was one divine Person, the title “Mother of God” (Theotokos) could rightly be given to his mother, the Virgin Mary. This title was a focal point in the dispute between the followers of Nestorius and orthodox Catholics. ©CCSP

Tome of Pope St. Leo the Great
EWTN Library

Written in 449

Several theologians, led by Eutyches (d.c. 454) of Constantinople, devoted to the terminology of St. Cyril and opposed to Nestorianism, held that after the incarnation the union of the divinity and humanity in Christ was so complete that there was but one divine-human nature in Christ. This was the beginning of the heresy of Monophysitism. several theologians who, devoted to the terminology of St. Cyril, held that after the Incarnation Christ’s divinity and humanity were so completely united that He had only one divine-human nature, thus triggering the heresy of monophysitism. Flavian, the Bishop of Constantinople, condemned the views of Eutyches, who appealed to Rome. Pope St. Leo the Great sent instead a letter to Flavian, setting forth “what the Catholic Church universally believes and teaches.” This letter, known as the Tome of Leo, was later accepted by the Council of Chalcedon (451) as a correct expression of the traditional teaching on the two natures and one person in Christ. ©CCSP

Council of Chalcedon
EWTN Library

Dogmatic Constitution of the Council of Chalcedon in 451

Not only did the Council of Chalcedon accept Pope St. Leo’s tome, it also promulgated a profession of faith, embodying the traditional doctrine regarding Christ in detail and in the terminology used by Leo. The great importance of the Council is that it set forth in unambiguous language the truths of the Incarnation. ©CCSP

Second Council of Constantinople
Still looking

Conciliar document, year 553

At this council, the views set forth by Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa (views articulated in the so-called “Three Chapters”) were condemned. Theodore had been a prominent bishop and a strong opponent of Arianism and Apollinarianism, but some claimed that his writings were guilty of Nestorianism. Since the Council was seeking to reconcile the Monophysites and to gain their acceptance of what was taught at Chalcedon, some of the canons take care to condemn Nestorianism (which the Monophysites opposed) and to praise the orthodoxy of St. Cyril of Alexandria, a hero of the Monophysites. Yet the eighth canon insists, as against Monophysitism, on the orthodox sense of St. Cyril’s celebrated phrase, “one incarnate nature of the Word of God,” a phrase used by Monophysites to support their denial of two natures in Christ. ©CCSP

Third Council of Constantinople
Still looking

Conciliar document, year 680-681

This Council was convened to combat the heresy of Monothelitism, which held that that there is only one will, a divine will, in Christ. It expresses firm faith in the teaching of St. Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great. ©CCSP

Annum Sacrum
Vatican Library

Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, May 25, 1899

At the close of a century of great change and many new problems, Leo XIII commits the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This modern devotion to the Sacred Heart began revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque late in the Seventeenth Century. Correcting a tendency in Christology which makes Jesus Christ a theological problem, this devotion reminds us that he is a Person to be known, loved and served. In Annum Sacrum, consecration to the Sacred Heart is accepting the authority of Christ the King. ©CCSP

Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus
Vatican Library

Christ the Redeemer, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, November 1, 1900

As the twentieth century begins with a Holy Year, Pope Leo XIII proclaims the redemptive work of Jesus Christ who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” He encourages believers, challenged by secularism, scepticism, and immorality. By showing how all life, personal and social, must center on our Redeemer, he echoes his own great social encyclical Rerum Novarum, 1891. The social dimension of the work of Jesus Christ the Redeemer will be taken up at the end of the century by Pope John Paul II. ©CCSP

E Supremi
Vatican Library

Restoration of all things in Christ, Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X, October 4, 1903

Taking his own motto “To restore all things in Christ” as the theme of his first encyclical, Pope St. Pius X sets out the program of his pontificate - a Christ-centered challenge to the secularism and worldliness of the new century. The formation of good priests, better catechesis and the lay apostolate are the priorities he sets for himself and his brother bishops. He succeeded in setting the Church on this sound pastoral course. ©CCSP

Quas Primas
Vatican Library

Feast of Christ the King, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, December 11, 1925

The Feast of Christ the King, now observed on the last Sunday of the Church year, was instituted by Pope Pius XI at the end of the Holy Year, 1925. Derived from the Incarnation and the Redemption, the “social kingship” of Jesus Christ means that he truly reigns when the laws and government of the State are derived from God’s Law, so as to give justice, freedom and peace to all citizens. Communism and fascism had emerged at this time in direct opposition to the reign of Christ. ©CCSP

Miserentissimus Redemptor
Vatican Library

Reparation to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, May 28, 1928

The decade after World War I was a time of frivolous worldliness and humanistic skepticism, when Communist and fascist totalitarianism were rising to greater power. Pius XI called Catholics to make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the sins of the modern world. Many people were blithely going their own way, unaware that they were about to be overtaken by the great economic depression which began in the following year. ©CCSP

Lux Veritatis
EWTN Library

Council of Ephesus, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, December 25, 1931

Pope Pius XI traces the history of the Council of Ephesus, and recalls the truths it proclaimed against the errors of Nestorius. The third part of the encyclical explains the title “Mother of God” and presents the role of Mary at a time when people were suffering from economic hardship and when the Church was being persecuted in some countries. ©CCSP

Orientalis Ecclesiae
Vatican Library

St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, April 9, 1944

In the critical year of the Second World War, in the month of the liberation of Rome, Pope Pius XII traces the life and work of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who greatly influenced the outcome of the Council of Ephesus. The encyclical concludes with an ecumenical appeal to separated Eastern Christians. ©CCSP

Sempiternus Rex Christus
Vatican Library

Council of Chalcedon, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, September 8, 1951

Pius XII celebrates the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Chalcedon. He calls separated Eastern Christians back to Catholic unity and corrects erroneous theological tendencies already emerging even among in some Catholic circles. The major problem is an over-emphasis on the human nature of Jesus
Christ, leading to a slide towards Nestorianism. Thus, the Pope rejects the “kenotic” theology of the Incarnation, which argues that, in becoming man, God the Son so “emptied himself” as to surrender all his divine powers. ©CCSP

Haurietis Aquas
EWTN Library

Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, May 15, 1956

The most sophisticated teaching of the Magisterium on the Sacred Heart is presented by Pope Pius XII in Haurietis Aquas. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not sentimental piety but a central and direct way the praying Christian can relate personally to the God-man. The Christological role of the Sacred Heart is to bring the realities of the Incarnation and the Redemption into clearer focus, by returning always to the wondrous mystery of divine love revealed in the love of a human heart. ©CCSP

Aeterna Dei Sapientia
Vatican Library

Fifteenth Centenary of the Death of Pope St. Leo I, Encyclical of Pope John XXIII, November 11, 1961

Before the Second Vatican Council gathered, Pope John XXIII wrote this letter not only to honor the magisterial Christology of St. Leo the Great, but to emphasize the role of the papacy in maintaining unity within the Church. His hopes for the Council are found in sections 35 and 62. ©CCSP

Keeping the Faith in the Mysteries of the Incarnation and Most Holy Trinity in the Face of Recent Errors
Still looking

Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 21, 1972

In the years immediately after the Second Vatican Council, errors and theological imbalances had appeared concerning the Incarnation and the Holy Trinity. At the direction of Pope Paul VI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith indicates exactly how some theologians had failed and what is the best path to take in understanding and affirming these essential truths of our Faith. ©CCSP

Sixteenth Centenary of the Death of St. Athanasius
Still looking

Homily by Pope Paul VI, May 6, 1973

In a decade of continuing confusion and theological dissent, Pope Paul VI re-affirms the great truths of the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ which St. Athanasius defended in Egypt in the fourth century. The presence of the Patriarch of the Copts during this homily underlines the importance of sound Christology in all ecumenical endeavors. ©CCSP

Redemptor Hominis
Vatican Library

Redemption and the Dignity of the Human Race, Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, March 4, 1979

In the light of the central theme of his first encyclical letter, John Paul II may well be called the “Pope of the Redemption.” Jesus Christ our Redeemer offers all people dignity and freedom in the last decades of the complex twentieth century. He penetrates our human experience and therefore he is with us in all the events of our age. Faith in Christ our Redeemer guided the Pope through the ensuing decade, which saw a gradual revival in the life of the Church and which ended with the collapse of the Communist systems. ©CCSP

To Rev. Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P.
Still looking

Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, November 20, 1980

The problem of Christology at the end of the twentieth century is an over-emphasis on the human nature of Jesus Christ, which eliminates His divinity. This tendency was influenced by the confident Western secularization of the preceding decades. It shows the limitations of a purely psychological understanding of “person” in Christology. This particular case also involved an uncritical acceptance of opinions derived from some methods of studying the Scriptures. ©CCSP

Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East
Vatican Library

Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, November 11, 1994

This profession of common belief in Christ resolved misunderstandings that had arisen fifteen hundred years ago in the era of the Council of Chalcedon. The passing of time made it easier to resolve issues that had long lost their clarity and precision. Agreement on the Person and Natures of of Jesus Christ marks a major step toward restoring the full unity between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Oriental Church. ©CCSP

Deus Caritas Est
Vatican Library

Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI on Love, December 25, 2005

Pope Benedict XVI in this 15,000 word encyclical letter responds to those who try to replace the Church as the ordering principle in our lives and source of all that we need with the state. He addresses squarely the question that those who seek to serve the state pose to us. 3 “Doesn't the Church, with all her commandments and prohibitions, turn to bitterness the most precious thing in life?” The Holy Father begins his answer by reflecting on love in its origin and manifestations. He tells us how, through the Logos, even eros can be 10 “supremely ennobled, yet at the same time it is so purified as to become one with agape.” He emphasizes agape, 12 “love in its most radical form.” 14 “We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us. Only by keeping in mind this Christological and sacramental basis can we correctly understand Jesus' teaching on love.” Having set the foundation, the Holy Father then directly addresses the inherent deficiency of the state. 28 “There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such. There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love of neighbour is indispensable.” And he gets us involved. 29 “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” ©MKB

Sacramentum Caritatis

Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, February 22, 2007

This is a major exhortation on the Holy Eucharist as the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission. The Holy Father gives an appreciation of the Synod of Bishops’ Instrumentum Laboris, July 7, 2005, and offers reflections aimed at a renewed commitment to Eucharistic enthusiasm and fervor in the Church, particularly on the relationship between the Eucharistic mystery, the liturgical action, and the spiritual worship that derives from the Eucharist as the sacrament of charity. The Holy Father considers Sacramentum Caritatis closely related to his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. “We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us.” ©MKB

Spe Salvi
Vatican Library

Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI on Hope, November 30, 2007

Catechism of the Catholic Church sections # 422 through 682 are relevant to these documents.	The story of Church letters.	Background statements written by Msgr. Peter J. Elliott of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and copyrighted by Catholics Committed to Support the Pope are indicated by ©CCSP. All others are written and copyrighted by Martin K.Barrack.
Document	Description	Background
Apostles Creed New Advent	Creed discovered during the 4th century	Although this creed has been attributed to the Apostles, it is somewhat unlikely that they are its authors. Nonetheless, it faithfully summarizes the truths taught from the earliest days of the Church. The title, Apostles Creed, is first found in a letter sent by the Synod of Milan (390) to Pope St. Siricius. ©CCSP
Nicene-Constantinople Creed New Advent	The Nicene Creed, our profession of faith at Sunday Mass, published by the Council of Constantinople in 381	Although not composed at the First Council of Constantinople (381), it incorporates many elements of the Nicene Creed (325), and seems to have been promulgated, even though not composed, by the First Council of Constantinople. After gaining recognition, it soon acquired great authority and made its way into the liturgy in both the East and the West. ©CCSP
Quicumque New Advent	Athanasian Creed, first discovered during the fifth or sixth century	Although not written by St. Athanasius, this creed, known as the Quicumque (from its first Latin word), and probably composed in the fifth or sixth century, has long had great authority as a source of Catholic belief. ©CCSP
Tome of Pope St. Damasus I Still looking	Year 382	Although directed primarily at Trinitarian errors, the anathemas of Pope St. Damasus are also concerned with errors concerning Christ. The sixth canon condemns those who claimed there is a duality of sonships in Christ; the seventh condemns the view that Christ did not truly become man; the fourteenth repudiates both Patripassianism (Monarchism) (which denied the Trinity and held that God the Father suffered on the cross) and the heresy that Christ’s human nature was not a true human nature. ©CCSP
Anathematisms Against Nestorius Still looking	Letter written by St. Cyril of Alexandria in 430	One year prior to the Council of Ephesus, St. Cyril composed twelve condemnations of errors spread by Nestorius regarding Christ. Although these have never been formally approved by any council, they express orthodox Catholic faith. Cyril used terms that so emphasized the unity of person in Christ that later on claimed that later on Monophysites led by Eutyches (who claimed that Christ’s human nature was absorbed by the divine) sought to support their heresy by appealing to St. Cyril. The difficulties caused by Cyril’s terminology are illustrated in the third and fourth canons. But Cyril was thoroughly orthodox, as manifested by his insistence that Mary be called “Mother of God.” ©CCSP
Council of Ephesus EWTN Library	Statement of the Council of Ephesus in 431	Nestorius claimed that there are two persons in Christ, a divine and a human. His heresy was vigorously opposed by St. Cyril of Alexandria. His second letter to Nestorius was adopted by the Council of Ephesus, the third ecumenical council, as an expression of Catholic faith at its first session on July 22, 431. Precisely because the God-made-man was one divine Person, the title “Mother of God” (Theotokos) could rightly be given to his mother, the Virgin Mary. This title was a focal point in the dispute between the followers of Nestorius and orthodox Catholics. ©CCSP
Tome of Pope St. Leo the Great EWTN Library	Written in 449	Several theologians, led by Eutyches (d.c. 454) of Constantinople, devoted to the terminology of St. Cyril and opposed to Nestorianism, held that after the incarnation the union of the divinity and humanity in Christ was so complete that there was but one divine-human nature in Christ. This was the beginning of the heresy of Monophysitism. several theologians who, devoted to the terminology of St. Cyril, held that after the Incarnation Christ’s divinity and humanity were so completely united that He had only one divine-human nature, thus triggering the heresy of monophysitism. Flavian, the Bishop of Constantinople, condemned the views of Eutyches, who appealed to Rome. Pope St. Leo the Great sent instead a letter to Flavian, setting forth “what the Catholic Church universally believes and teaches.” This letter, known as the Tome of Leo, was later accepted by the Council of Chalcedon (451) as a correct expression of the traditional teaching on the two natures and one person in Christ. ©CCSP
Council of Chalcedon EWTN Library	Dogmatic Constitution of the Council of Chalcedon in 451	Not only did the Council of Chalcedon accept Pope St. Leo’s tome, it also promulgated a profession of faith, embodying the traditional doctrine regarding Christ in detail and in the terminology used by Leo. The great importance of the Council is that it set forth in unambiguous language the truths of the Incarnation. ©CCSP
Second Council of Constantinople Still looking	Conciliar document, year 553	At this council, the views set forth by Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa (views articulated in the so-called “Three Chapters”) were condemned. Theodore had been a prominent bishop and a strong opponent of Arianism and Apollinarianism, but some claimed that his writings were guilty of Nestorianism. Since the Council was seeking to reconcile the Monophysites and to gain their acceptance of what was taught at Chalcedon, some of the canons take care to condemn Nestorianism (which the Monophysites opposed) and to praise the orthodoxy of St. Cyril of Alexandria, a hero of the Monophysites. Yet the eighth canon insists, as against Monophysitism, on the orthodox sense of St. Cyril’s celebrated phrase, “one incarnate nature of the Word of God,” a phrase used by Monophysites to support their denial of two natures in Christ. ©CCSP
Third Council of Constantinople Still looking	Conciliar document, year 680-681	This Council was convened to combat the heresy of Monothelitism, which held that that there is only one will, a divine will, in Christ. It expresses firm faith in the teaching of St. Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great. ©CCSP
Annum Sacrum Vatican Library	Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, May 25, 1899	At the close of a century of great change and many new problems, Leo XIII commits the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This modern devotion to the Sacred Heart began revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque late in the Seventeenth Century. Correcting a tendency in Christology which makes Jesus Christ a theological problem, this devotion reminds us that he is a Person to be known, loved and served. In Annum Sacrum, consecration to the Sacred Heart is accepting the authority of Christ the King. ©CCSP
Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus Vatican Library	Christ the Redeemer, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, November 1, 1900	As the twentieth century begins with a Holy Year, Pope Leo XIII proclaims the redemptive work of Jesus Christ who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” He encourages believers, challenged by secularism, scepticism, and immorality. By showing how all life, personal and social, must center on our Redeemer, he echoes his own great social encyclical Rerum Novarum, 1891. The social dimension of the work of Jesus Christ the Redeemer will be taken up at the end of the century by Pope John Paul II. ©CCSP
E Supremi Vatican Library	Restoration of all things in Christ, Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X, October 4, 1903	Taking his own motto “To restore all things in Christ” as the theme of his first encyclical, Pope St. Pius X sets out the program of his pontificate - a Christ-centered challenge to the secularism and worldliness of the new century. The formation of good priests, better catechesis and the lay apostolate are the priorities he sets for himself and his brother bishops. He succeeded in setting the Church on this sound pastoral course. ©CCSP
Quas Primas Vatican Library	Feast of Christ the King, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, December 11, 1925	The Feast of Christ the King, now observed on the last Sunday of the Church year, was instituted by Pope Pius XI at the end of the Holy Year, 1925. Derived from the Incarnation and the Redemption, the “social kingship” of Jesus Christ means that he truly reigns when the laws and government of the State are derived from God’s Law, so as to give justice, freedom and peace to all citizens. Communism and fascism had emerged at this time in direct opposition to the reign of Christ. ©CCSP
Miserentissimus Redemptor Vatican Library	Reparation to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, May 28, 1928	The decade after World War I was a time of frivolous worldliness and humanistic skepticism, when Communist and fascist totalitarianism were rising to greater power. Pius XI called Catholics to make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the sins of the modern world. Many people were blithely going their own way, unaware that they were about to be overtaken by the great economic depression which began in the following year. ©CCSP
Lux Veritatis EWTN Library	Council of Ephesus, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, December 25, 1931	Pope Pius XI traces the history of the Council of Ephesus, and recalls the truths it proclaimed against the errors of Nestorius. The third part of the encyclical explains the title “Mother of God” and presents the role of Mary at a time when people were suffering from economic hardship and when the Church was being persecuted in some countries. ©CCSP
Orientalis Ecclesiae Vatican Library	St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, April 9, 1944	In the critical year of the Second World War, in the month of the liberation of Rome, Pope Pius XII traces the life and work of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who greatly influenced the outcome of the Council of Ephesus. The encyclical concludes with an ecumenical appeal to separated Eastern Christians. ©CCSP
Sempiternus Rex Christus Vatican Library	Council of Chalcedon, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, September 8, 1951	Pius XII celebrates the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Chalcedon. He calls separated Eastern Christians back to Catholic unity and corrects erroneous theological tendencies already emerging even among in some Catholic circles. The major problem is an over-emphasis on the human nature of Jesus Christ, leading to a slide towards Nestorianism. Thus, the Pope rejects the “kenotic” theology of the Incarnation, which argues that, in becoming man, God the Son so “emptied himself” as to surrender all his divine powers. ©CCSP
Haurietis Aquas EWTN Library	Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, May 15, 1956	The most sophisticated teaching of the Magisterium on the Sacred Heart is presented by Pope Pius XII in Haurietis Aquas. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not sentimental piety but a central and direct way the praying Christian can relate personally to the God-man. The Christological role of the Sacred Heart is to bring the realities of the Incarnation and the Redemption into clearer focus, by returning always to the wondrous mystery of divine love revealed in the love of a human heart. ©CCSP
Aeterna Dei Sapientia Vatican Library	Fifteenth Centenary of the Death of Pope St. Leo I, Encyclical of Pope John XXIII, November 11, 1961	Before the Second Vatican Council gathered, Pope John XXIII wrote this letter not only to honor the magisterial Christology of St. Leo the Great, but to emphasize the role of the papacy in maintaining unity within the Church. His hopes for the Council are found in sections 35 and 62. ©CCSP
Keeping the Faith in the Mysteries of the Incarnation and Most Holy Trinity in the Face of Recent Errors Still looking	Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 21, 1972	In the years immediately after the Second Vatican Council, errors and theological imbalances had appeared concerning the Incarnation and the Holy Trinity. At the direction of Pope Paul VI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith indicates exactly how some theologians had failed and what is the best path to take in understanding and affirming these essential truths of our Faith. ©CCSP
Sixteenth Centenary of the Death of St. Athanasius Still looking	Homily by Pope Paul VI, May 6, 1973	In a decade of continuing confusion and theological dissent, Pope Paul VI re-affirms the great truths of the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ which St. Athanasius defended in Egypt in the fourth century. The presence of the Patriarch of the Copts during this homily underlines the importance of sound Christology in all ecumenical endeavors. ©CCSP
Redemptor Hominis Vatican Library	Redemption and the Dignity of the Human Race, Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, March 4, 1979	In the light of the central theme of his first encyclical letter, John Paul II may well be called the “Pope of the Redemption.” Jesus Christ our Redeemer offers all people dignity and freedom in the last decades of the complex twentieth century. He penetrates our human experience and therefore he is with us in all the events of our age. Faith in Christ our Redeemer guided the Pope through the ensuing decade, which saw a gradual revival in the life of the Church and which ended with the collapse of the Communist systems. ©CCSP
To Rev. Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P. Still looking	Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, November 20, 1980	The problem of Christology at the end of the twentieth century is an over-emphasis on the human nature of Jesus Christ, which eliminates His divinity. This tendency was influenced by the confident Western secularization of the preceding decades. It shows the limitations of a purely psychological understanding of “person” in Christology. This particular case also involved an uncritical acceptance of opinions derived from some methods of studying the Scriptures. ©CCSP
Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East Vatican Library	Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, November 11, 1994	This profession of common belief in Christ resolved misunderstandings that had arisen fifteen hundred years ago in the era of the Council of Chalcedon. The passing of time made it easier to resolve issues that had long lost their clarity and precision. Agreement on the Person and Natures of of Jesus Christ marks a major step toward restoring the full unity between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Oriental Church. ©CCSP
Deus Caritas Est Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI on Love, December 25, 2005	Pope Benedict XVI in this 15,000 word encyclical letter responds to those who try to replace the Church as the ordering principle in our lives and source of all that we need with the state. He addresses squarely the question that those who seek to serve the state pose to us. 3 “Doesn't the Church, with all her commandments and prohibitions, turn to bitterness the most precious thing in life?” The Holy Father begins his answer by reflecting on love in its origin and manifestations. He tells us how, through the Logos, even eros can be 10 “supremely ennobled, yet at the same time it is so purified as to become one with agape.” He emphasizes agape, 12 “love in its most radical form.” 14 “We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us. Only by keeping in mind this Christological and sacramental basis can we correctly understand Jesus' teaching on love.” Having set the foundation, the Holy Father then directly addresses the inherent deficiency of the state. 28 “There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such. There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love of neighbour is indispensable.” And he gets us involved. 29 “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” ©MKB
Sacramentum Caritatis	Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, February 22, 2007	This is a major exhortation on the Holy Eucharist as the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission. The Holy Father gives an appreciation of the Synod of Bishops’ Instrumentum Laboris, July 7, 2005, and offers reflections aimed at a renewed commitment to Eucharistic enthusiasm and fervor in the Church, particularly on the relationship between the Eucharistic mystery, the liturgical action, and the spiritual worship that derives from the Eucharist as the sacrament of charity. The Holy Father considers Sacramentum Caritatis closely related to his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. “We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us.” ©MKB
Spe Salvi Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI on Hope, November 30, 2007